Antique Gibson Mandolin Restoration

Here's how it looked when I first started

The mandolin had been sanded down by whoever owned it perviously. There is a long crack at the middle of the mandolin, cracks on the f sound hole on the right where it had been sanded too hard.

Previous repairs

Large crack that had been repaired.

Previous repairs

Smaller crack that had been repaired.

Previous repairs

Some unknown neck work had been done and covered up with wood putty.

Small separation on the headstock

There was a small crack where two pieces of wood were joined. Quick fix with some extra hide glue.

Cracks

The streak you see in this picture is where it had been sanded too roughly and the pieces around the sound hole cracked. I applied hide glue to the back of the piece with an old small paint brush tip that i bent at an angle.

Repaired faceplate crack

You can just barely see where I glued the faceplate crack back together and sanded it.

Repairing faceplate crack take 2

Of course, as soon as I finish sanding the crack opens back up. I used a little thinner mix on the hide glue the second time to make sure it got into the crack well. Then sanded everything down smooth.